Unwed Dad Gains In Adoption Fight

Judge Upholds Man's Claim To Son

July 04, 1996|By Andrew Fegelman, Tribune Staff Writer.

The failure of unwed fathers to register within 30 days of the birth of their child does not necessarily mean they forfeit all parental rights, a judge said Wednesday in a ruling that offers hope for a Joliet man fighting the adoption of his infant son.

Cook County Circuit Judge Francis Barth indicated that if other procedures are followed establishing a father's parentage, they may be sufficient to show parental rights were not forfeited.

In the case of 23-year-old Darrin Affrunti, Barth said, his parentage was established by the Illinois Department of Public Aid in a May 22 administrative proceeding. Under a new state law, Barth said, that determination has the force of law.

As a result, the judge said, Affrunti did not forfeit his parental rights by waiting 132 days before informing state officials he was the father of a boy born in December 1995.

The ruling came as Barth dismissed the adoption petition filed by a south suburban couple, who now have custody of the child. If there is no further legal action, which no one expects will be the case, Affrunti will retain his parental rights.

"It is a big victory for us, but we still have a long way to go," said Frank Andreano, Affrunti's lawyer.

Affrunti, who had separated from the child's biological mother before the child was born, was not in court Friday, but the child's maternal grandparents, who have been supporting Affrunti's legal efforts, were.

Andreano has said that Affrunti had shown "care, love, affection and (financial) support" for the infant since the boy's birth.

Affrunti's challenge to the adoption had gained extra significance because he had contested the constitutionality of a nearly-2-year-old state law enacted in the wake of the Baby Richard adoption case.

The law reformed adoption proceedings in Illinois and included a new requirement that all fathers register with the state Department of Children and Family Services within 30 days of a child's birth or lose any claim to the child.

But after Barth's decision, Andreano indicated he was dropping the constitutional challenge. He said such a challenge could have delayed the case's resolution because the focus would have been on the law and not on Affrunti's efforts to void the adoption.

Although Wednesday's decision boosts Affrunti's efforts to win custody, it does not guarantee anything. Under the state's complex adoption laws, Affrunti's parental rights can still be terminated if there is a showing that he is unfit to parent the child.

Murray Sims, an attorney for the adoptive parents, said Wednesday he would use records of Affrunti's criminal convictions in an attempt to prove that he is unfit.

He said he also planned to ask a judge to terminate Affrunti's parental rights on procedural grounds because Affrunti failed to file a declaration of paternity within 30 days of being informed about the birth of his child.

"The ruling today just means we have to proceed with other means of terminating his parental rights," Sims said.

Sims was critical of the procedures that established Affrunti as the father of the child, which he said occurred essentially by default without Affrunti even contacting the Department of Public Aid about the case.

He said that in May the department contacted the child's mother to find out who the father was after Medicaid paid medical bills for the mother and child.

The mother disclosed who the father was, but, said Sims, Affrunti never filed any papers contesting or admitting he was the father. With only the disclosures of the mother, Sims maintained, the department made a determination about paternity.